President Paul Kagame has said that the conflict in neighbouring DR Congo, especially in the eastern part of the country should not be blamed on his country.
He claimed the situation rather reflects the failures of Kinshasa to solve its longstanding internal problems relating to Congolese of Rwandan ethnicity.
Kagame made the remarks Friday during an interview one the sidelines of the U.S-Africa Summit in Washington D.C.
Reacting on the DR Congo crisis, Kagame said that whatever is going on in the country should not be put on Rwanda’s doorstep given that more than 100 armed groups not just the M23 rebel group have been active in the country.
Kagame added that the M23 was born for the same reasons Rwanda hosts over 80, 000 Congolese refugees for decades, all linked to how the Congolese government had failed to resolve issues around Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese.
“What I want to say clearly, this problem was not created by Rwanda and it is not Rwanda’s problem. It is Congo’s problem. They’re the ones that have to deal with it,” he said.
While other people can be helpful, as the East African Community is trying to deal with the matter, it appears the entire responsibility has been put on the shoulders of Rwanda, he reiterated.
“Be it the Congolese government and its leaders, be it the international community, everybody is running away from that problem and they say this is Rwanda’s problem,” he added.
“I cannot be responsible for the fact that there are Congolese of Rwanda ethnicity in Congo who are being denied their rights as citizens. That is not my problem,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kagame claimed that Rwanda has sought the attention of both Kinshasa and the international community on the alleged collaboration between Rwandan FDLR rebels and the Congolese national army, claims which he said were largely ignored.
DR Congo accuses Kigali of backing M23 rebels, an allegation Kagame’s government has severally dismissed as untrue.
CU/as/APA